ORONO – A free training workshop for college women who are interested in sharpening their leadership skills and learning more about political campaigns will be held Saturday, Sept. 26 at Wells Conference Center on the University of Maine campus.

Elect Her — Campus Women Win participants will learn the basics of running a successful student government campaign, as well as meet local campaign winners.

The all-day program will include presentations by state representatives Ellie Espling and Sara Gideon, as well as information and activities focused on running for office such as message design and campaign strategy.

“Next Step RUN!,” a documentary film that features women candidates will be shown, and a panel of students who hold leadership positions at UMaine and Husson will be available to answer questions.

A networking reception with local city and state officials will close the program.

A continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments will be served. A full agenda is online. Registration can be completedonline before Friday, Sept. 18.

Elect Her is the only national program that encourages and trains college women to run for student government and future political office. A joint program of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and Running Start, Elect Her will be offered at 50 sites around the nation and Jamaica in 2015.

This is UMaine’s second year hosting the event. The Division of Student Life and Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center are co-sponsoring the event along with AAUW and Running Start.

More information about Elect Her is available on the AAUW website  at www.aauw.org or on the Elect Her Facebook page.